Metropolitan Iobi Says Georgian Dream Has Exhausted Its Potential, Calls for Change of Power
By Messenger Staff
Thursday, November 12, 2026
Metropolitan Iobi of Mroveli-Urbnisi said that Georgia's ruling Georgian Dream party has "completely exhausted its potential," issuing a stark call for political change and accusing authorities of governance failures and attempting to subordinate the Georgian Orthodox Church.
Speaking in a sermon published to his diocese's official social media channel, the senior cleric delivered a wide-ranging critique of state policy. While conceding that the current government had maintained national peace, Metropolitan Iobi argued those efforts failed to offset systemic crises.
"The alarm bells must be rung because things can no longer continue this way," Iobi said, adding that national interests were no longer reflected in state policy. "Just as governments change around the world, we must choose a better one in the future."
A central focus of the sermon targeted government interference in Church affairs. Iobi alleged that state subsidies create financial dependencies that silence senior clergy and foster lifestyles among religious leaders that mirror those of public officials. Demanding full transparency for religious funding, he also voiced opposition to proposed digital donation terminals in churches, warning they could serve as a mechanism for government surveillance.
The Metropolitan extended his criticism to social and domestic matters, highlighting rapid demographic decline, illegal drug expansion, gambling growth, and land sales. Questioning the rationale behind large-scale housing developments amid falling birth rates, he urged authorities to pivot from construction-led growth to direct assistance for families,including a 1,000 GEL benefit for third children.
Addressing corruption concerns, Iobi pointed to unaddressed high-level scandals, unresolved border issues surrounding the Davit Gareji monastery complex, and unresolved leak investigations involving historical wiretaps targeting clergy members.
Acknowledging that the Church had previously supported Georgian Dream as "the better option among worse alternatives," the Metropolitan urged religious leaders to maintain strict independence from political authority going forward.
